The Blood Red Moon Total Lunar Eclipse

So, I missed the Northern lights that swept through the Midwest this past winter. When I learned there was going to be a Blood Red Moon Total Lunar Eclipse I decided to set my alarm. At 1:30, I was jarred out of bed. I donned my hooded sweatshirt and headed out to see what all the fuss was about. That term “blood red”, I must say, caught my attention. Last April I was blessed to see the Total Solar Eclipse in Wayne County, Indiana, and I wanted to catch this as well.

What is the Blood Moon Total Lunar Eclipse?

The reason for the term blood red moon is because when the Full Moon is full eclipsed it takes on an orangey red hue. This happens as it passes through a shadow of the Earth. The eclipse blocks the sunlight from the surface of the moon. However, there is still some sunlight reaching the moon’s surface. It causes the reddish tone. During a Blood Red Total Lunar eclipse, the moon can appear yellow, orange, or brown. When I caught it last night around two, it was a pinkish red, eerie in the darkness. I read that this light filtering is called Rayleigh Scattering -when light waves interact with particles or molecules smaller than the wavelength of light. 

My experience

My two tom cats kept me company as I cast my eyes heavenward toward God’s handiwork in the sky. I know there is all the scientific reasons why this happens. But I am awed by the signs and wonders of the night sky. Everything was still. It was a time when time just stopped. I felt one with nature. The hubby didn’t move when I got out of bed. His interest was more in getting some z’s than traipsing outside in the middle of the night.

I reveled in the spontaneity of it, the beauty of the moon and wondered. Who all was out doing what I was doing and seeing the same sight I saw. What stories did each viewer have to share? This has been an emotional week for me filled with wonderful, and tragic news. But for a few minutes in the shadow of God’s stellar beauty, stars twinkling, cats weaving in and out of my legs, the earth stood still, and the moon turned red.